West Meets East
by Allard-Liao
Summary: Fresh from their victory against the University Selection Team, the girls of Ōarai receive a new challenge. Well, what's one more fight? When it's against the Americans, you never know...
1. Chapter 1

Sierra Armored Academy – Docked in San Francisco Bay, Circa 0600 Hours PST, August 14

The dawn's light filtering in through the windows of his cabin awoke Commander Jeremiah Maxson. Well, that and the distant booming of tank cannons. Getting dressed in a set of sweat-pants, he walked over to his private refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of vitamin-enriched water. Flipping the bottle in his hand, he walked out to the balcony on the carrier's island. As he looked out over the city, he twisted the top off the bottle and took a swig.

Or, rather, he tried, but his flipping of the bottle had caused some condensation to drip down over the lid, making it too slick for his fingers to latch onto. He sighed. "Goddammit." A tissue grabbed from a nearby box provided enough friction, and the plastic connections snapped.

Now, he was able to take a drink of the water, enjoying the stevia-sweetened orange taste as the liquid flowed down his throat. Settling against the railing, he looked out over the school carrier and back over the city. Down on the deck, he could see the tankers' gunnery target range set up with a pair of M4 Shermans on the firing lines, practicing their 200-yard precision shots. Any greater distance would require setting tread on land.

At the base of the carrier's island sat the defining feature of the ship Sierra had once been: her two turrets mounting two 8-inch/55 calibers Mk 9 guns, each, the as-constructed primary armament of the USS _Saratoga_. The academy's founder had managed to save the ship from her planned demise in the Crossroads-Baker atomic bomb test and restored the ship to a mixture of her pre- and post-'42 refit armaments. The 5-inch/38 calibers guns that had replaced the Mk 9s had been reverted back, but the rest of the weapons from the '42 and '44 refits remained.

 _She wasn't the only thing our founder saved_ , Jeremiah thought as he remembered the number of rare and even unique vehicle designs stashed in what had once been the fighter hangar of the old carrier.

Beyond the ship, he could see the modern skyline of San Francisco, with the morning fog casting a slight haze over the city. It was thickest near the Golden Gate Bridge, the red steel structure standing tall and isolated in appearance. He laughed under his breath; compared to San Francisco, Sierra Academy looked rather out of place.

Jeremiah was shaken from his musings when someone knocked on his cabin door. A quick donning of a shirt was all he bothered with before opening the door. He almost thought that someone on the ship was playing a prank when he saw no one there, and then he saw the perfectly-styled straight black hair at the bottom of his eye level. "Ah, Captain. What can I do for you?"

His second-in-command on the school's Armored Gladiator team, Hidaka Saegusa, stood before him, a tablet in her hands pressed against her abdomen. "Commander, I have a request." He waved his hand to signal for her to go on. "I was watching the Japanese National Sensha-do Tournament finals, and I was wondering if we could set up a friendly match against the winning team."

He tilted his head. "You watch the National Tournament every year and haven't made this request before. Why this year's winners?"

"It's Ōarai Girls' High School."

He rocked his head back. "Ah. Got it. I'll talk to Captain Taylor and see if he'll be willing to get us there. Why don't you compose a request message for Ōarai's Sensha-do commander to set us up a match?"

She bowed. "Arigato, sempai."

He tousled her hair. "Don't thank me just yet. We don't know if we'll get either bit of permission."

"Hey!" Hidaka hurriedly worked to straighten her hair, but he saw that little smile on her face.

Jeremiah chuckled. "Now, go on. Enjoy your day." After she left, he heard the distinct sound of a Calliope joining the Sherman guns.

With a sigh, he took another sip of his water and walked over to the fridge. Captain Taylor was not someone you just simply talked to out of the blue if you wanted him to be in a good mood. As this would be out of the blue, a little liquid courage wouldn't go amiss.

The bottle looked to have about five ounces left in it. "Hmm. Note to self: Next shore leave, buy a new bottle of mead." He added about an ounce to the vitamin water and put both bottles back into the fridge. After changing into his uniform, he reclaimed the water bottle and set off for the ship Captain's Quarters.

* * *

Ōarai Girls' High School – Docked at Ōarai, Japan, Approximately 5:00 AM JST (Next Day)

Yuzu was skimming through the school emails, sorting out which ones would be forwarded to which member of the school staff/student body, when one made her eyebrows shoot upward; she wondered who would be emailing the school at midnight, and then she realized that the timing was due to where the email was sent from. "Um, President, I think you should take a look at this."

"Hmm?" Anzu gulped down the sweet potato she had been eating and walked over. After a moment of reading, she smiled. "Oh. Now that's interesting. We'd be happy to oblige."

Momo looked toward them from the door where she was just entering. "Oblige what?"

"An American Sensha-do school wants to have a match with us. I don't see any reason to say no. Do you?"

"No, ma'am."

"I thought so."

The vice president had shot off a reply email while the other two were talking, and, to her mild surprise, received a response a moment later. After reading it through, she spoke up again. "They thank us and say that they should be here in a little under a month."

The president leaned in. "A month, huh? Well, that'll give us time for that victory match we were planning."

"Are you sure that that's wise, having two friendly matches scheduled that closely together?"

Anzu waved Momo off. "It'll be fine. Based on the schedule we were planning, there'll be a three-week gap between the two."

"If you say so, President."

* * *

Sierra Armored Academy – One Week Later

It had been a surprise, albeit not an unpleasant one, when Captain Taylor had readily agreed to the idea of having a friendly match against the Ōarai team. Everyone was given a week to get their affairs in order in preparation for the upwards of two months they would be away from their home port. For Jeremiah, that had been visiting his mother to make sure she was well and hoping that she would still be there when he returned. There wasn't much else, as he had no other family, and his only friends were on the academy ship with him.

The academy maintenance crews had worked feverishly to ensure that the Academy and its equipment were all set and ready for the voyage. The fuel tanks had been topped off, shells were loaded into storage, and the ship's food and water stores were full. In a few words, Sierra Armored Academy was fully supplied.

On the last night before they were scheduled to depart, he logged into his "World of SPGs" account to have a last few games before he had to drop into blackout. Judging from the number of usernames he recognized while he waited for the first match to start, he wasn't the only one with that idea. He pinged the friendly Tiger(P) with a platoon request and activated his microphone. "Hey, Hidaka. Do our usual team attack pattern?"

"You know it. Get your lumbering beast into position."

"Hey! The Churchill's a good tank." Still, he set the war machine into motion to reach a position where he could side-scrape without exposing the weaker hull armor.

A third tank, a Škoda T-25, joined their platoon. "Then why's it at a lower tier than either of our tanks?"

"Quiet. No one asked you, Nikos."

Amidst chuckling across the comm., he could hear music filtering in from the line of Carol Nikos, President of the Anime Club and gunner of the tank its members rode in. " _Oi, oi, oi, hey Smith!_ " The ongoing combat was the only thing that prevented him from pressing his palm to his face as he recognized the song.

"Really, Carol? You girls chose one from _that_ anime?" Before she could retort, he checked the minimap and saw that Hidaka had taken up her sniper's post in the northeast corner of the battle area. Meanwhile, he had parked himself along the second intersection leading into the town, able to cover most approaches to the friendly cap circle. That left… "By the way, Carol, guess who gets to be our scout?"

Even through the music, he could hear her groan and smirked a little. This was going to be a fun match.

Halfway through their journey, they stopped off and resupplied their food, water, and fuel stores at Midway island. It would be another two weeks before they reached Ōarai, so the armored cadets worked on their physical fitness as best they could: using the stairs between decks and the former air deck for stair-climbs and runs, respectively; loaders practiced loading their tank's cannons as quickly and efficiently as possible to train their upper bodies; everyone else did their own choice exercises as they saw fit.

One day, the tank gunners got the chance to drill their skills thanks to an unseasonably early and unusually far south iceberg that came into view of the carrier. A few dozen armor-piercing and high-explosive shells reduced the mighty chunk of ice to slush. Carol, the gunner of one of their M36 Jacksons, had especially enjoyed the activity, as it allowed her to burn off some of the boredom she had acquired over the past couple of weeks.

Two days before they were to arrive, Jeremiah stood on the deck at the front of the academy ship, staring out to the West. "Penny for your thoughts?"

He looked back and beheld a member of his own tank's crew, loader Elaine Dewitt, a woman of Amazonian build thanks to the heavy tank shells she had to move routinely. "For the moment, no. I'm just… pondering."

"Oh? What about? Our upcoming match against Ōarai?"

He nodded. "I just have this… feeling, that something happened, something big, while we've been in transit."

"Well, we'll be in range of Japan's wireless internet signals tomorrow, so you can check then."

"Yeah, you're right." Jeremiah shrugged. "It's probably nothing, and I'm being superstitious." Then he planted his face in his palm. "And by saying that, I've probably tempted fate into making it something."

She laughed. "Come on, **now** you're sounding superstitious."

"'Superstitious' is what I am only if it doesn't come true."

A sigh deflated Elaine's chest. "You're weird. This isn't some story we're in."

With a last look toward still-distant Japan, he turned to walk back to his cabin. "You never know."

* * *

The next day, shortly after Sierra had entered signal range, the commanders of the Academy's all-female tank teams were called to the ship's briefing room. A laptop was already hooked up to the ceiling-mounted projector. Jeremiah and Hidaka were the first to arrive and watched the others filter into the room.

Next to arrive was Lieutenant Sharon Shianus, Commander of the Anime Club's Jackson. Like Hidaka, she was a third-year cadet, a year and a half from graduation. She was tall, with blue eyes and dyed blonde hair; her ruddy brown roots showed that she hadn't dyed recently. Her clothing echoed her namesake, with a white shirt and black pants, as a skirt wouldn't work in their field.

Right behind her was Lieutenant Sarah Wolfgang, of the Music Club and roommate of Carol Nikos. Because of that, the Anime and Music clubs worked together quite a bit, with the Anime Club providing songs for the Music Club to practice and blare as battle themes during exercises and matches. They used an M4A1(76)W Sherman.

The fourth commander did her best to slink in without anyone else noticing. Were Jeremiah not watching for her, she would have. "Margaret, glad you could join us."

"Eep." A small mouse of a woman, Lieutenant Margaret Agna of the Tabletop Games Club was someone who wouldn't stand out in a crowd. Other than standing a little under five feet tall, there was really nothing to visibly distinguish her. Behind the plain features and brown eyes and hair, however, was a very sharp mind that missed no details and was quick enough to formulate complex strategies on the fly. Fittingly, she commanded one of their M24 Chaffee scouting tanks.

Conversely, the next commander to enter was a boisterous firebrand lieutenant called Samantha Pevensie, with red hair that matched her personality. "Hiya, everyone!" It was amusing that she ran the Literary Club on campus.

"Morning, Sam."

Finally, the commander of the Linguistics Club's M36 Jackson, Lieutenant Isabella Lupus, walked in. Well, "walked" didn't properly describe the grace and elegance with which she arrived in the room. Jeremiah had no idea how, but she managed to make a trench coat look like something a proper lady would wear.

Once everyone was seated, he cleared his throat. "Well, now that we're all here, we can begin. However, as she will be commanding you in this match, Captain Saegusa will be handling this briefing. Hidaka, the floor is yours." With that, he walked over to the back of the room and took his own seat.

She stepped forward. "Thank you, Commander." She slotted a USB into the laptop and opened up the slide-show she had prepared. "As you may have heard, we'll be facing Ōarai Girls' Academy in two days. They're a relatively poor school with eight tanks at their disposal."

Samantha raised her hand. "Eight? Why are we only bringing six to this fight?"

Jeremiah cleared his throat, again. "That one, I can answer. We're deploying only six tanks, Samantha, because we will be respecting Japan's rules for Sensha-do."

"Sen-what?"

"'Sensha-do,' or 'Tankery' is the Japanese version of Armored Gladiators, and it is for girls, only. Unfortunately, that means that I won't be joining you on the ground this time."

Hidaka rapped her knuckles on the table to bring the conversation back into line. "The Commander is right. Anyway, the eight tanks Ōarai currently uses are the following."

The first slideshow picture was of a greenish tank with a snub-barreled cannon on one side of its turret and a machine gun on the other along with a second machine gun on the front of the hull. Lieutenant Lupus tilted her head. "Pardon my language, but is that a fucking I-Go?"

The Captain nodded. "It is, but Ōarai is well aware of its weaknesses against later tanks. In exchange, they have tuned up the Type 89's suspension to allow it to practically reach its theoretical top speed and use it as their primary scout and harassment unit. Additionally, it was instrumental in a gambit to defeat a Maus."

"Wait, what?!"

"…So we should not underestimate any of their vehicles, no matter how weak and obsolete they may be."

Samantha waved her hands. "No, no, no. Go back. 1) Who the hell fielded a Maus, and 2) how the hell did an I-Go take that monster out?"

"To answer your questions, the Maus was deployed by Kuromorimine, and I will be showing a video near the end of the briefing showing the entirety of the match between them and Ōarai. Anyway, continuing on." The image switched to a long tank with a small gun in a turret and a large-bore, short-barreled gun in the body which had the same greenish paint job as the Type 89. "The Char B1 bis. An interwar heavy tank with a 47mm gun in the turret and a hull-mounted 75mm howitzer. I would suggest staying away from in front of it and hitting from the sides and rear."

"And, with that pea-shooter in the turret, it can't really hurt us in a broadside," muttered Wolfgang.

"Don't get overconfident. That 'pea-shooter' can still punch a hole through the armor of your Sherman, or even the Chaffee if you give it half a chance." She switched to the next tank, a grey-green beast with a large cannon in a turret. "Their least-used tank, a Type 3 Chi-Nu. It has a 75mm long-barreled main gun, more than equal to that of an M4. The armor is a little thinner, but it has a comparable top speed." Another switch, and a familiar American tank was brought into view.

"Hey, that's an M3 Medium."

"Correct, Sharon. Specifically, one in the American 'Lee' configuration with a turret-mounted 37-millimeter gun and an M2 75mm in a frontal hull-mounted sponson, though its cupola-mounted machine gun has been removed. Its frontal armor is of decent thickness and angling, meaning that some of our guns will have difficulty punching through. From the footage I've seen, its crew has specialized in pinning down and dominating heavier, slower tanks."

Amidst some snickers at Hidaka's word choice, everyone looked at Samantha, since her tank fit that description, perfectly. "What? Mine might be a heavy tank, but it's still got good agility, speed, armor, and firepower."

"Riiight. Anyway, on to the next one." This picture depicted a squat, yellow tank destroyer/assault gun with its large gun mounted in the hull and Ōarai's logo emblazoned on the hull next to the gun. "A Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer. Its small size, low profile, and powerful 7.5cm Pak 39 L/48 gun make it a potent ambush-based tank destroyer. Additionally, it has thick, for its size, well-angled armor, making it difficult to take out quickly even after it's spotted."

"It may be a tough nut, but sufficient force will crack even the toughest nuts." That one came from Lieutenant Shianus.

The transition to the next slide came with no preamble, with an image of what looked like a larger Hetzer in dark grey. "One of Ōarai's most powerful vehicles is their Sturmgeschütz III assault gun. It has all of the advantages of the smaller Hetzer with the addition of even thicker armor."

"A ninja, striking from the shadows and melting away," was the murmured assessment of Lieutenant Agna.

She put down the remote and leaned forward, bracing herself against the table. "The last two of Ōarai's tanks are their command tank, like my Pershing, and their heaviest hitter, like your beast, Samantha."

"Hey! My tank has an official designation!"

"And, for ease of reference, we ignore it in favor of the nickname."

Samantha slumped in her seat, conceding the point; after all, one syllable was faster to say than six.

Hidaka took up the remote again. A click heralded the display of a brown-painted tank with several spaced armor plates. "The Panzer IV. When Ōarai had shut down their Sensha-do program twenty years ago, the tank had been in the Ausf. D configuration, but the revived team has since upgraded the medium tank into the Ausf. H with schürzen armored skirts and a long-barreled KwK 40 L/48 7.5cm cannon. Their driver can pull off some truly insane feats such as drifting the tank along dry ground, and their gunner is equally impressive, scoring a kill shot from several hundred feet away with the Ausf. D's L/24 gun."

Margaret raised her hand. "So, she's the priority target?"

"Yes and no. The school's Sensha-do captain, Miho Nishizumi, is a very dangerous tanker, and removing her would reduce Ōarai's capacity for tactics and strategy, they can still operate without her direct orders. The Panzer IV is definitely in the top two tanks to eliminate from Ōarai's team." Her features softened. "The other is her."

The slideshow transitioned to a large, long grey tank with a familiar-looking turret mounting a truly massive cannon.

"The Porsche Tiger, a rare design originally developed as a prototype for what would become the Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger. She has heavy armor and the same 88mm L/56 gun as the Tiger with a forward-mounted turret. She masses 59 tonnes and has an official top speed of 40 kilometers per hour, but her users have managed to make some Sensha-do-legal modifications that boost that speed to upwards of 49 or even 65."

Jeremiah stood up and distributed a bundle of tablets. "On those tablets are the schematics for Ōarai's eight tanks, with corrections based on observed modifications, and profiles for what we know of their crews. We'll view footage of their final match in the 63rd National Sensha-do Tournament and then brainstorm battle plans for our match."

* * *

Jeremiah plopped down in the computer chair in his dorm, almost exhausted. But it was a good kind of exhausted, the kind that signified the completion of a hard day's work. The planning session had lasted for hours, covering as many contingencies as could be conceived of from watching Miho Nishizumi's performance in the 63rd Nationals.

As it was still too early to go to bed, he booted up the computer and started up a session of World of SPGs, thankful that the ship was now in range to connect to the game's Asian server. Yet again, he wasn't the only one with the same idea. Before entering the battle matchmaker, he platooned his Firefly up with Hidaka's Tiger(P) and Sharon's M6 Heavy. When they entered the match, they saw that the game was Tiers V-VII, with the bottom-tier tanks being a platoon of three Type-3 Chi-nus.

A rare evil laugh echoed from Sharon's line as the timer ticked down. "Easy prey."

"Easy there, Lieutenant. Never underestimate your opponents. Look at their stats. All three of them are unicums."

"Whoa-oa. What? Over twenty thousand games played, each, and a minimum win-rate of 63%? And they still drive Tier 5?"

"Some people have a favorite tank that they will drive even if they have better tanks available. Look at Hidaka. She drives the Tiger(P) almost exclusively despite having the entire German tech tree unlocked."

"Eh, I guess."

When the match started, Jeremiah immediately moved to a tree-covered hilltop where he could put the long range of the Firefly's 17-pounder to good use while Sharon and Hidaka advanced.

Sharon was the first to run into the Chi-nu platoon, and was force-fed her words as the three Tier Vs circled from cover to cover around her heavy tank, popping into view for just long enough to fire a shot, denying her teammates return fire on any of them, while using their 75mm guns to make the M6 almost literally melt around her. As the last shot was fired, they slipped away into the middle of the map. Not even friendly artillery had managed to get a shot in. Her response was apt. "What. The. Hell. Was that?"

"That, Lieutenant, was a group of players who know each other like the backs of their hands. Imagine if they were a tank crew."

* * *

Miho stood on the back of the Ōarai school carrier, looking out over the ocean. "Miporin, what are you doing here?"

She looked over her shoulder and saw her Panzer IV's crew approaching, led by Saori. Even Mako was there. "Oh. Hi, Saori. The student council said that a Sensha-do team from America is coming, and I wanted to see if I could catch their arrival."

"Why is an American team coming here?"

Miho looked at her feet and kicked a stone. "We're going to have a match."

Saori gasped. "Again? We just had that one against the University Team!"

"Anzu told me that they'd agreed to it before the friendly we had with Chi-Ha-Tan against St. Gloriana and Pravda."

Hana nodded in understanding. "I see. And if they're coming in their school ship, they'll have been at sea for weeks, now. It would be impolite to turn them away after all that time and make their journey a waste."

Yukari was practically dancing with excitement at this point. "Oh, I can't believe we're going to meet a real foreign Sensha-do team! I've heard so many stories about the American Unlimited League. Apparently, they can mount post-War equipment on their tanks! There was this one Sherman that was modified with–"

Mako raised a hand and pointed to the horizon. "Oh, look, there they are."

Miho strained her eyes to see, but the chronically-tired driver was right. Out on the horizon was a little speck that slowly resolved itself into the form of an aircraft carrier. Beside her, Yukari gasped. "Wow. It's based on the Lexington-class. I can see the big gun turrets in front of the conn. tower."

As the ship drew closer, Ōarai's commander corrected her loader. "Yukari, I don't think it's _based_ on a Lexington, I think it _is_ a Lexington."

"What?! I thought both of them had been sunk!"

With her typical dry tone, Mako replied, "Evidently not."

By this point, the American ship had approached to a close enough range that almost every detail could be made out. Saori pointed out the obvious. "It's so small."

Yukari took a moment to pick her jaw up. "That's the USS _Saratoga_. She was two hundred seventy meters long when she was built. I'd thought she was sunk in one of the American nuclear tests after the War, but it looks like she wasn't. Unlike Ōarai, it looks like she was converted into a school ship rather than being purpose-built for the duty."

Of course, length wasn't the only area where the American vessel was smaller than the Japanese, as the bridge only came up to Ōarai's city deck. Hana tapped Miho on the shoulder. "As Captain of our Sensha-do team, I think you should get to the loading dock to greet them."

"Oh, right."

"We'll come with you, Miporin."

"Thanks, guys."

* * *

Anzu waved to Miho when they arrived. "Nishizumi-chan, you're just in time."

Beside her, Momo frowned. "I see you brought your crew with you."

Miho shrugged. "They wanted to come."

Any further discussion was tabled when the gangplank connecting the two ships clanged into place. From the _Saratoga_ 's side came a young man flanked by six young women. Miho's tactical mind immediately zeroed in on the most distressing aspects of the man: a gun at his waist and a knife in his boot. Her hard-drilled combat instincts started running scenarios, but she tamped down on them when he showed no hostility. Instead, he came to a stop precisely six meters away and saluted. "Kon'nichiwa. I hate to ask, but, do any of you speak English?"

Before anyone of the Ōarai girls could react, the brown-haired Japanese girl to his right held up a hand. "Don't be offended. It's just, Commander Maxson can't speak much Japanese."

Miho, Anzu, and, most surprisingly, Saori waved their concern off. "It's alright. I can speak English."

"Me, too."

"So can I."

Maxson smiled. "Whew. I was afraid things were going to be awkward, for a moment." He cleared his throat. "So, who is your Sensha-do team captain?"

Wordlessly, everyone of Ōarai's present members pointed at Miho, who meekly raised her hand at being suddenly on the spot. "I am."

He stepped forward halfway and held out his hand. "Commander Jeremiah Maxson, Sierra Armored Academy of the United States Army."

Following his example, Miho walked toward him and accepted his handshake. "Miho Nishizumi, Ōarai Girls' Academy."

His grip was strong, yet gentle. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Nishizumi." He stepped back and gestured to the woman who had spoken for him a moment earlier. "This is my second-in-command, Captain Hidaka Saegusa."

"Kon'nichiwa." She bowed in respect.

Jeremiah shifted his gesture to the redhead beside her. "Lieutenant Samantha Pevensie."

"Yo." A cursory wave of her hand accompanied the greeting. Hidaka looked to be resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

The blonde at the end of that side was next. "Lieutenant Sharon Shianus."

She gave a bow of her own, though a sweeping European style one. "Good afternoon."

He swung his introductions to his left side, starting with a woman who, despite her long coat, looked every inch an immaculate lady, reinforced by dyed silver hair. "Lieutenant Isabella Lupus."

She curtsied. "An honor to meet you, ma'am."

As she rose, she gently tugged a small girl (practically Katyusha's size) out from behind her. "Lieutenant Margaret Agna." The girl simply waved. Jeremiah pointed at the last girl, a brunette with earrings shaped like musical notes. "Lieutenant Sarah Wolfgang."

A subtle bow of the head prefaced her greeting. "Hello to you."

With a bow of her own, Miho replied, "It's an honor to meet you all."

"Likewise." Commander Maxson rubbed his hands together. "Now, I believe our match is scheduled for tomorrow, so, in the meantime, would you like a tour of our hangar?"

"A tour of your hangar?"

Yukari lit up. "A tour?!"

"Of course. We used our transit time to study your tanks, so it would only be fair that you got some time before the match to study ours."

Miho clenched her hands together and bit her lip. "Um…"

Anzu preempted her. "We'd love to. Give us some time to gather our tank commanders."

Jeremiah bowed his head. "I understand. Take your time. If I may ask, is there anywhere in town you would suggest would be a good place for my men and women to take some R&R for tonight?"

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, that became a lot longer than I thought it would. 4897 words.**

 **Before a few weeks ago, I had no idea what** _ **Girls und Panzer**_ **even was. Then I read the chapters of ElfCollaborator's "Weiss Reacts" that crossed over RWBY with the series and became interested. Then I watched the series on Crunchyroll and became smitten. Within days, the basic idea for this fic began to form and became this. For this, I have done more research on tanks in the past few weeks than I ever had before. And that research will show… next chapter.**

 **This fic won't be a long one, just a few chapters.**

 **EDIT: Props to anyone who can spot the shoutouts I put in this chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

Sierra Armored Academy Deck – September 14

It was a motley assortment of girls who eventually walked down the gangplank to come aboard the Academy ship. A mechanic, a girl with thick glasses and decorative white cat ears, and what seemed to be cosplayers for Erwin Rommel and Julius Caesar were among them. Then again, Jeremiah reminded himself, there were some… unique individuals that populated his own teams. Hidaka bowed her head. "Welcome, ladies, to Sierra Armored Academy. If you would follow me, we can begin the tour."

The grey-brown-haired girl next to Miho practically bounced and jittered as she walked among the group. In response to his questioning glance, Ōarai's captain merely shrugged. "Yukari likes tanks."

From the way she was acting, "like" was far too mild a word to describe her visible anticipation, but the Commander schooled his thoughts, considering that he wasn't much different aside from being able to hide his feelings better, and reasserted his professionalism. He led the way to the secondary elevator. On the way, a thought occurred to him. "By the way, as we approached, I heard rumors of some battle involving you lot and a team from a university. What was that about?"

It was the redhead with twin-tails who answered. "The guy in charge of the School Ships wanted to shut Ōarai down, but we worked out a deal that, if we could beat a university team, he wouldn't. We won."

He gave an approving grunt. Defeating opponents with years more experience spoke volumes for Miho's natural expertise and that of her team in the sport. Once everyone had mounted the elevator, he activated the lift and the group descended into the bowels of the ship.

"Stay close to us, girls. It's easy to get lost down here. Especially if you get side-tracked." This last one Hidaka directed at Yukari, who was already looking starry-eyed as her gaze swept over the thirty or so tanks in the hangar.

Realizing she was being addressed, she rubbed a hand through her hair, nervously chuckling. "Right. Sorry."

With a chuckle of his own, Jeremiah waved his hand. "This way." As they walked, he lectured while Hidaka translated. "Our Academy ship was rescued by Howard Hughes, himself, in December of 1945 as a piece of aviation history. When he remarried in 1956, his wife, who had been introduced to tanks by Audie Murphy, convinced Howard to enter _Saratoga_ into the nascent school ship program and to fund its transformation into an armored forces academy. That is where we received a number of our tanks; they are vintage chassis retired after World War II that Hughes bought up and donated to the academy before they could be sent to scrapyards."

When Captain Saegusa finished translating, he realized that she had trailed off at the end. He turned around and saw that, once again, Yukari was the culprit: She looked one factoid away from drooling. A girl with close-cropped black hair tapped Yukari on the shoulder. "Akiyama, pull yourself together." Then she leaned in and whispered something he couldn't quite hear, though he was sure the word "embarrassing" was a part of it.

At that, Yukari slumped in place. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Let's continue."

The rest of the way, the only sounds from the group were their footsteps and Yukari's excited muttering about the tanks she was seeing. That was until they passed the Academy's biggest tank. One of the visibly youngest of Ōarai's commanders audibly shuddered as she looked up at the muzzle of its cannon. "That's a scary big gun. Worse than the 12.8."

Jeremiah stopped and suppressed the grin that threatened to break out across his face before turning around. "That is because that gun is a one five five millimeter. Roughly a quarter again the diameter of the 12.8cm cannon your school's M3 crew faced down in the finals."

Miho's head whipped from the tank to him. "155mm? What tank uses that?"

Yukari beat him to the punch, looking back and forth between Jeremiah and the tank and muttering, "No way. You guys have a T30?!"

This time, the smirk broke through as he nodded. "Yes, we do."

"Whose is it?"

His smirk weakened at the use of the word "it," but broadened again as he answered, "She's mine, so you won't be unfortunate enough to be in her sights tomorrow."

The Erwin Rommel cosplayer tilted her head. "I'm a little confused. What's a T30?"

"The T30 Heavy Tank was one of the prototypes the U.S. Army devised as a response to the appearance of Tiger IIs, Ferdinands, and Jagdtigers in the Nazi arsenal after D-Day. Unfortunately, they couldn't be brought to the battlefield quickly enough to be used against any of the Axis powers, so the chassis ended up simply being test-beds for later concepts. A real pity." He sighed and waved them forward to the cargo elevator.

A girl wearing a volleyball uniform spoke up. "Wait, the T30 wasn't ready by the end of the War? I thought that the deadline for designs that could be used in Sensha-do was August 15, 1945."

Jeremiah resumed walking as he answered. "The rules for the American League are a little different. As long as the schematics for the vehicle were conceived during the War and a prototype was constructed by 1950, it'll be allowed. The folks in charge determined that the five-year difference wasn't enough to have a game-breaking effect on the matches." When they arrived, the elevator was coming down back from the deck to receive the first tanks for delivery. Assembled at the base of the elevator were six armored fighting vehicles, SAA's maintenance crew doing final checks. "Hey Joe, are they ready?"

Tech Sergeant Josephine Callahan, head of the maintenance staff and pulling double-duty as Hidaka's driver, waved back. "Yep, they are."

As she climbed down a ladder set against the turret of the tallest and heaviest of the vehicles to be used in this match, Jeremiah heard the girl with the cat ears say, in English, "O. M. G. A real-life Mutant-6."

Sierra's commander whirled around. "The only people who call the M6A2E1 that are World of SPGs players. You play?"

She nodded. "I'm Nekota, but I go by Nekonyaa in-game."

He started laughing, slowly at first, but then it built into a full guffaw; Hidaka held a hand over her mouth to stop herself from doing the same. Upon seeing the girl look a little disheartened or even offended and her teammates grow angry, he held up a hand. "We are not laughing at you, far from it. It is just, some of my team and I, including Hidaka, battled you and your platoon last night, and I had jokingly posited what it might be like if your platoon were a tank crew after you slaughtered my platoon-mate's M6 Heavy."

"Oh! You must have been AllardLiao117, right? You weren't bad."

"Gee, thanks."

"No, I mean it. You managed to outplay and knock out my driver, Momoga; few here can."

That left things in an awkward silence that was broken by Yukari clearing her throat. "I've heard of the M6, before, but not that particular variant. What is it?"

Jeremiah was grateful for the change of subject. "You want to field this, Hidaka, or shall I?"

She waved him on. "By all means. You're the tank expert."

He cleared his throat. "Remember when I said that the T30 was one of the prototypes meant to counter the German heavy tanks and tank destroyers? Well, another model was the T29, mounting a 105mm T5E1 gun. As a proof-of-concept and stopgap measure, two M6 heavy tank chassis were mated to prototype T29 turrets, with plans to add additional armor to the front of the tanks to make them proof against the larger Nazi guns. These were the M6A2E1 Heavy Tanks. The difference between our tank and the concept vehicles is that ours mounts the planned 191 millimeters of frontal hull armor, rather than the unmodified hulls used in the concepts due to General Eisenhower rejecting the design because of transportation concerns. She weighs 77 tons, well beyond what any then-extant ground transport vehicle could handle."

Yukari had wandered further down the line before stopping in front of the Sherman. Her gaze tilted up…and up and up. "Is…Is that a Calliope Multiple Rocket Launcher? Are those even legal?"

"Good eye, Miss Akiyama. That is, indeed, a T34 Calliope attachment, specifically the -E1 variant that has launch tubes for 64 M8 4.5-inch Rockets. And we checked, they are Sensha-do legal. She'll be serving as our artillery support for the match, so watch the skies."

There wasn't much more to see and talk about, as the remaining vehicles, the M26 Pershing; M24 Chaffee; and two M36 Jacksons with armored roof kits, weren't anything truly special. Hidaka clapped her hands and said, "Well, that ends our tour. Any questions?"

Yukari's hand went up. "When I looked at the Jacksons, they seemed to have irregular hulls."

Jeremiah was beginning to see a kindred spirit, for good and ill, in the young Miss Akiyama. "That is an extremely good eye for detail you have. But, yes, our M36s use -E2 sub-variant hulls rather than standard M4A3 hulls. As a sub-variant, they are allowed, and we thought the extra armor worth the loss of mobility."

Miho raised her hand. "You said earlier that your team wouldn't be using the T30 in our match tomorrow because you commanded it. Why is that?"

He smiled. "I won't be taking the field because this is a Sensha-do match." He shrugged. "It wouldn't be Sensha-do if boys got involved. Hidaka, Samantha, Sharon, Isabella, Margaret, and Sarah are the commanders for our all-girl teams. All our other teams have at least one guy on them."

"Huh. That makes sense." Then she chuckled. "Good thing Saori isn't here to hear that." At Jeremiah's quizzical look, she added, "The orange-haired girl who was with me. She desperately wants a boyfriend."

"Ah."

The redhead was next, and she unnecessarily added standing on tip-toe to make sure she was noticed. "I don't actually have a question about the tanks, but I did wonder if you'd like to join us for dinner, get to know each other better."

"Um… uh." He looked away, trying to think of the best way to formulate his reply, but Hidaka beat him to the punch.

"We'd love to," she said in Japanese. He glared at her betrayal, and she glared back and continued in English, "Oh, come off it. I'll go with them and make sure they cook something you can stomach." She glanced back at the redhead and returned to Japanese. "That's assuming you guys are cooking fresh, right? Not just taking something out of a package?"

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it."

Miho nodded. "Yeah. The President's a great cook!"

That caught Jeremiah's ear. "Wait. 'President?' As in, Student Council President?" The Japanese girls nodded. "Then, why isn't she your CO?"

The President shrugged. "When we started the Sensha-do program back up, Miho here was the only one with experience, so we put her in charge. Her excellent ability to lead and compassion ensured that she stayed there."

Ōarai's captain blushed at the praise. "Th-thanks."

The girl with the black bob haircut cleared her throat. "So, what's the problem you might have with our food?"

He returned a level gaze. "Let's just say that I have a very limited palate–"

Captain Saegusa interrupted him. "–And I know every part of it. Don't worry, Commander. You'll like what's served to you."

Seeing that he wasn't going to win this argument, he sighed. "Alright. Just let me know where and what time."

* * *

The dining hall in Ōarai Girls' High School was packed, with all the members of Ōarai's eight Sensha-do teams and the committed six Sierra Armored Academy teams sitting at the various tables, a grand total of 62 teenagers and young adults. The rest of the Sierra cadets were out and about in Ōarai's two towns: the original, land-based town and the one that had grown up on the school ship; they were guided by 97 of the 100 members of the Japanese school's so-called "Disciplinary Committee," who oddly shared a rather uniform appearance and skill-set, all able to speak English. Two of the Committee's remaining three members were those who were Sensha-do practitioners and, thus, in the dining hall.

It was into this maelstrom of people and conversation that Commander Jeremiah Maxson walked, escorted by the leader of the Disciplinary Committee, one Midoriko Sono; their arrival brought the total of persons in the room to 64. As the girl walked over to her teammates, his eyes roved over the crowd, searching for his teams. His hopes of subtly joining them were dashed when Hidaka raised her hand and waved. "Hey, Commander! Over here, I saved you a spot!"

He sighed as dozens of pairs of eyes turned toward him. Swallowing his discomfort of so many strangers paying attention to him, he walked over to the open bench space his second patted. The table seemed to be occupied by her team, the President's team, and Miho's team. It was also smack-dab in the middle of the room. When he sat down, he opened his mouth to grumble at Hidaka, but then he saw the food in front of him. "Is… is this fried chicken?"

"This dish is called 'torikatsu,' but essentially yes."

Jeremiah looked back at his food and blinked for some seconds, and then shifted his gaze to Ōarai's Student Council President, bowing his head. "I thank you, ma'am, for your consideration."

She waved him off. "It's nothing." She raised her voice. "Now, everyone."

He reached into his mind and recalled the lessons Hidaka had drilled into him on Japanese etiquette in time to join her and the Ōarai students in saying, "Itadakimasu." He heard a couple of the girls stifle giggles at his American mispronunciation of the phrase, with a short "e" sound instead of the first "a," but Hidaka had long given up on getting him to get it completely right.

They all ate in relative silence, the exceptions being how the other American cadets groused at the need to use chopsticks (which they were terrible at) to eat their food; Jeremiah made a mental note to thank Hidaka later for teaching him the proper way. As the meal began to wind down, various conversations started. Ahead, Jeremiah heard Margaret espousing the virtues and excitement of _Warhammer 40,000_ to Nekota and her team, who were retaliating with _Valkyria Chronicles_. Behind and to his left, the Anime Club was discussing favored viewing material with Ōarai's youngest student team, a group of six he realized were first-year students, and he noted some of Hidaka's crew looking longingly at that table; not surprising, considering that they were the Film Club. Finally, Samantha's team were swapping suggestions for historical literature with the historical cosplayers.

As his mind started to drift from the multiple information inputs, Yukari spoke up. "So, what got you into Sensha-do?"

Grateful for something to focus on, he replied, "Well, I'm an Army brat on both sides and a Navy grand-brat on my mom's side, so military service is beginning to run in the blood."

Saori tilted her head. "'Army brat?'"

"It's an American term that means one or both of your parents served in the Army."

"Ah."

"And I'm utterly useless for any other military position. I'm not fit enough for infantry, and I get ill in a plane or helicopter. So, tanks it is. You?"

"Oh!" Yukari's eyes widened when his response had been translated. "Well, I've been fascinated with tanks my whole life. When Ōarai restarted its program and opened it up to anyone who wanted to, I couldn't pass up the chance."

Miho nodded. "She helped us when we were looking for the tanks that had been scattered around the school when Ōarai had given up Sensha-do twenty years ago. Our team found the 38(t)."

Hidaka spoke up then. "I'd wondered about that. I had heard that Ōarai's 38(t) was a Panzer, not a Jagdpanzer. How'd you get one?"

The President fielded that one. "It was a Panzer, but we bought a Hetzer mod kit just before the finals."

"A 'mod kit?' I didn't even know those existed." She turned to Jeremiah, but he beat her to the punch.

"No. We won't be modifying our Stuarts to Scotts or our Lees to Priests. Our T18s and already-modified M40s and M43s perform the same task and don't need special waivers and additional modifications. Nor will we be converting our Shermans to Fireflies or Lees to Rams; the logistics would be horrible."

She grumbled, but returned to her food. "Spoilsport."

"'Priest?'" Miho mumbled. "Do you mean M7 Priest?"

He nodded, and Yukari sat up straight. "You use artillery in your battles?"

Another nod. "Of course. As military cadets, we have to get used to being able to call on the services of artillery in the field."

He did not miss the collective shudder run through the Ōarai girls. "Sorry. It's just, the University team was allowed to bring a Mörser-Karl into our match against them."

Jeremiah winced as he remembered the specifics of such a weapon. "You have my sympathies. Siege mortars aren't allowed in any of the American leagues. Any artillery used is limited to 203mm." Even a blind man could read the remaining unease in their expressions, so he changed the subject. "But look at us, having gotten off track. We were discussing how we each got into Sensha-do, weren't we? Let's continue."

The conversation and meal continued for another hour, after which the students of the two schools bid each other goodnight and made their way to their home quarters for the night's rest. The leaders remained awake for some time; there was still a battle to plan.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: For those of you who play World of Tanks on the NA servers, that is my real in-game username. Hold onto your butts, dear readers, for the tanks will roll out next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

Sierra Armored Academy Deck - September 15, 0945 Hours

Jeremiah stood at the minimum safe distance from the yawning maw of the cargo elevator, staring at the four tow cables snaking into the gap. Following them, his eyes alighted on the four helicopters that he knew were there. The Chinooks were assisting the elevator with lifting up the massive armored vehicle that exceeded the lift's capacity by over forty tons. Even with the fifty two tons of additional hauling capability provided by the choppers, he could faintly hear the giant pistons strain under the weight. Idling on either side of the elevator's deck entrance was another pair of Chinooks, which would join the first four in carrying the heavy tank to the docks, where her crew would mount up and drive her to the Sierra staging area.

He gently bit the inside of his bottom lip, knowing that the chopper crews would be cutting things even closer than the maintenance crew in charge of the elevator, since there was only a one-ton difference between their maximum combined carrying capacity and the weight of the M6A2E1. Any fault would send the tank plunging to the ground, but there was no alternative; Ōarai's port wasn't equipped to handle a ship like the _Saratoga_ , and Sierra didn't have the necessary ramps the larger school ships used to deploy their armored fighting vehicles.

"Hey, Commander!" He turned to see Hidaka waiting next to a UH-60 whose rotors were spinning up. "Let's go. We don't want to be late."

Nodding, he walked over to the helicopter and boarded. As they flew out toward the staging area, he thought back to the final planning meeting the night before.

* * *

Sierra Armored Academy Briefing Room - 1900 Hours

"Here's the map of the battlefield Ōarai sent us."

Jeremiah accepted the printout Hidaka handed him and studied it. After a moment, he logged onto the laptop and brought up a more detailed satellite map of the same area on the projector. "So, the boundaries for this match are Mito to the Northwest, the Nake River to the North, Ōarai and the Pacific on the East, a highway to the West, and Hokota on the South. An area of about forty four square miles. Where is our starting area?"

"Looks like the Taiheiyo Club Ōarai Sherwood Golf Course, southeast of Lake Hinuma."

He marked the area on the projection. "And Ōarai's?"

"The Nature Park to the North of the lake."

"Right then. Let's get the Lieutenants in here and you girls get to planning."

"Sir?"

"This is your show. Far be it from me to tell you how to run it."

She stood a little straighter and saluted. "Sir. Thank you."

* * *

A jolt reminded him of how slow his thought processes actually were when he was outside combat, as the Blackhawk had already made the journey and landed. "Here we are, Commander." Hidaka followed him out of the helicopter as he walked out toward the assembled crews.

"Thank you, Captain."

When he reached the area where the girls were milling about, he bellowed, "Atten...TION!" Immediately, the five groups formed ranks according to their teams. "Good. Just wanted to make sure you were paying attention, considering you seemed to ignore the Blackhawk. At ease until Easy Team arrives."

Even at their slow speed, the heavy tank crew didn't keep everyone waiting for long, the M6A2E1 lumbering up a few minutes later. They piled out and the American cadets reformed their ranks. Samantha saluted. "Sorry for keeping you waiting, sir."

He returned the salute. "Apology noted, but unnecessary." He cleared his throat and settled his hands at the small of his back. "Everyone, for most of you, this is your first Armored Gladiator match on foreign soil. For all of you, this is your first Sensha-do match. I want all of you on your best behavior. No trash talk, no adding insult to injury, no humiliation. Clean and professional is how I expect your conduct to be at all times. Additionally, although our dummy rounds allow this at home, no weapons discharge at exposed crew. That could cause real, serious injury." He smiled. "That being said, don't hold back in any other way. Whenever you know you can take out one of their tanks, take the shot. To quote a character I like, 'Take your balls out of your purse and kick some ass.' Now mount up and roll out. Let's get this show on the road."

"Hooah!"

* * *

Ōarai Girls Academy - 0900 Hours

"Mako, it's not even that early! You shouldn't be this sleepy, now." Saori's tone was rightfully miffed, considering that she was physically carrying Anglerfish Team's driver on her back.

"Studying," was the murmured reply.

"What? Did you stay up _all_ night studying Sierra's tanks, even though you didn't have to?"

"Yea."

"Huh." Before she could think on it further, she saw the back of a relievingly familiar head. "Oh, Miporin!"

Miho turned around, her eyes widening at the sight of the pair before she rushed over to help. "What happened?"

"Mako overslept because she decided to study our opponents." Saori shifted to gently put the sleepy driver on the ground where her weight could be shared between her two teammates. "She still hasn't fully woken up."

Miho giggled at their antics. "Let's go."

* * *

They made it to their assembly area shortly before 10, thanks to Mako waking up on the way. When they arrived, Anzu waved them over. "Hey, Commander, anything you want to say before we head out?"

Yet again, Miho was caught off-guard by the request. _You'd think I'd be_ used _to this by now!_ "Uh...u-um." She gulped to calm her nerves. "Everyone, this'll be our first match against a foreign team. Let's do our best and leave a good impression!"

"You bet we will!"

With that, everyone mounted up on their tanks. From her place in the commander's seat of the Panzer IV, Miho nodded to Saori. "I want a comms check. Is everyone receiving me?"

When her radio operator relayed her request, the replies came in quickly. " _Rabbit Team here, reading you loud and clear_."

" _Hippo Team, receiving_."

" _Turtle Team, we're good_."

" _Duck Team, ready to get started!_ "

" _Mallard Team, waiting for your orders_."

" _Anteater Team hears you, nya_."

" _Leopon Team, ready to go!_ "

Saori turned to Miho. "We're all good."

"Thanks." She reached up and pressed the transmission buttons for her throat mic. "All teams, panzer vor!"

Mako shifted the control levers to put the Panzer IV into a stately pace down the various access ramps that would lead down to the Ōarai docks.

The plan that had been agreed upon by both Sensha-do teams was that all the tanks would move to a mid-point between their two starting zones where the two commanders would commit the customary exchange of greetings. After that, the two teams would move to their zones to await the start of the match.

* * *

Miho found herself a little bit surprised at this moment, though she realized she shouldn't have; she already knew that her crews outnumbered Sierra Armored Academy's eight to six, but to see it in person… that was an entirely different thing. It was the first time Ōarai had ever had the numerical advantage over their opponents. Even so, the assembled crew members behind each commander were rather similar, reminding Miho that some of her tanks were under-manned.

Something that was truly surprising was that Commander Maxson was there, a helicopter idling behind him. Then again, this was still his team, even if his second was the one leading it in this match.

Captain Saegusa walked forward, and Miho matched the approach until the two were within arms' reach and shook hands. "I look forward to testing your now-legendary skill, Commander Nishizumi."

Miho's smile faltered a little at the praise. "Honestly, I just look forward to having fun, Hidaka."

Jeremiah cleared his throat and surprised her even more. "Sensha-do wa yumi de hajimari, yumi de owaru. Subete no sankasha ga yumi o kakeru." He had to have been practicing that for quite a bit, as his Japanese was flawless; a small grin appearing on Hidaka's face showed that either she taught him or simply appreciated his effort and was proud either way. For his visibly-confused, non-Japanese-speaking teammates, he repeated the ceremonial words in English. "Sensha-do begins with a bow and ends with a bow. All participants, bow."

Miho and Hidaka, who had taken a step or two back to avoid accidently klonking their heads against each other, bowed and intoned, "Let's have a good match." The sentiment was repeated by most of their teammates.

* * *

As the various tankers remounted their iron steeds, Hidaka walked with Miho for a moment, the younger girl looking on with a confused expression that was shared by a number of other members of both teams, including Jeremiah. She then diverted and approached the Porsche Tiger, whose crew stared at her. "Um, can we help you?"

Captain Saegusa didn't answer for a long moment, only laying her hand against the grey armored track cover, a small, nostalgic smile on her face. Finally, she said, "Your clothes. Are you mechanics?"

Jeremiah could see their relieved expressions from where he stood. "Yes, ma'am, we are."

"Have you been treating her well?"

The four Ōarai crew shared a glance. "Of course… but I always thought Leopon was a 'him.'"

"'Him?'"

He decided to head this off before his second in command blew a gasket. "Captain, get a move on. Your crew's about to leave."

She glared at him in a way that let him know that he would regret that later, but turned away from the Tiger(P) with a muttered, "We'll talk later."

Leaving them to it, Jeremiah buckled himself into his seat and signaled for the chopper's pilot to take him over to the viewing stands in town.

* * *

In the Pershing, Hidaka tapped the "Transmit" button on her headset. "Everyone hear me okay?"

" _Baker Team copies_."

" _Charlie Team here_. _You are coming through quite clearly, Captain_."

" _Dog Team is ready to play_."

" _Easy Team hears you_."

" _Fox Team is prepared to make them face the music_."

"Good. Everyone, here's the plan. Able and Dog Teams will scout ahead for targets. Easy Team will move to the highest point in the golf course and set up an overwatch of the lake and surrounding farmland; much as I hate to say it, the Porsche Tiger is your priority target. You see it, you kill it. Baker and Charlie Teams are on bodyguard duty. Keep any enemies away from Easy's sides and rear. When either I or Dog report targets, Fox Team brings the rain. Understood?"

A chorus of " _Understood_."s and " _Roger that_."s filtered over the radio channel.

"Good. Remember, this match is under what Sensha-do calls 'Annihilation' rules. It's just like our 'King of the Hill' matches, only there's no Hill. The match won't end until all the tanks of one side are inoperable." She shut off the transmitter. "Now, we wait for the starting signal."

After a few minutes of such waiting, she heard her gunner tapping her boot on the floor of the fighting compartment. "When's that damn buzzer gonna go off, anyway?"

Hidaka reached down and patted her shoulder. "Patience, Ibelin. Your time will come soon enough." She returned to looking out of the commander's cupola. "And, also, Sensha-do uses a flare, not a buzzer." The discussion about the imminent start of the match reminded the Captain of something. "Oh, nearly forgot." She shifted radio channels to the private one she shared with Lieutenant Wolfgang. "Sarah, when the match begins, could you put on Track 23 of my playlist?"

"Will do, ma'am."

* * *

"Leopon Team is our most powerful tank, so Sierra will probably try to take them out, first. I want you all to do what you can to prevent that from happening." Miho cleared her throat after laying out her orders. "Everyone understand your roles?" A chorus of acknowledgements filtered in over the radio. "Good. Let's do our best, everyone."

" _You already said that, Commander_."

"Oh! Right, I did. Sorry, I'm nervous."

" _We're right here, Miho, for whatever you need!_ " Miho could just imagine Noriko pumping her fist at that moment, and the other Ōarai tank commanders offered similar words of encouragement.

"Thank you. Thank you, everyone."

* * *

Because she was watching for it, Hidaka saw the flare soar up and burst in the sky. "Match start!"

She keyed her headset. "All tanks, advance! Cruising speed."

The rumble of accelerating tanks was joined by a few bars of music. " _I got the reach and the teeth of a killing machine…_ "

* * *

Miho saw it too, and keyed her throat mic, once more. "Panzer vor!"

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: There will be only two or three more chapters after this one, covering the battle and epilogue.**

 **If any of you spot a mistake with my Japanese, let me know. Quoth Doctor Stephen Strange: "I'm fluent in Google Translate."**


	4. Chapter 4

Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, September 15, 1110 Hours

Margaret keyed her radio. "Dog Team, here. We're about to exit the forest North of the golf course. No sign of the enemy, yet. Over."

A second later, Hidaka's voice filtered back over the line. " _Roger that. No sign here, either. Keep your eyes peeled. I'd assume contact is imminent. Over_."

"Affirmative. Dog Team is crossing the South Farm Field now. Will report in when we have contact. Over and out." She pressed her hand against the Chaffee's commander's hatch and unbuttoned. She closed her eyes for a second to enjoy the feeling of wind on her skin before resuming her recon.

In that short time, Dog Team had managed to cross the entire field and entered the forest that served as Ōarai's starting area.

Margaret bit her lip. "Something's not right here. We should have seen _someone_ by now." She hit "Transmit." "Be advised, Captain-" Her warning ceased as the Chaffee nearly ran over a squat grey shape, and she found herself face to face, though separated by a few feet, with the commander of Ōarai's StuG III, the young woman who made herself up like Erwin Rommel. Two sets of brown eyes widened and blinked in bewilderment for the couple of seconds they were locked on each other.

" _Lieutenant Agna, say again? You cut off. Over._ "

"I'm gonna have to call you back. Over and out." She switched to her crew channel. "Move, please." As her tank's engine roared with the driver's frantic maneuvering, she dropped back inside, closed the hatch, and returned to the command channel. "We've found and engaged the StuG a hundred yards into the forest line. Cannot safely disengage. The others are likely heading your way. Over."

" _Understood. Don't tunnel-vision like you sometimes do. I'm directing Fox Team to provide fire support. Over._ "

"Roger that." The 75mm M6 gun boomed as the turret finished turning toward the assault gun, and there was a crunch as it slammed home. "But we got it. Over and out."

Then there was a thunk from behind her. "What was that?"

Any response Margaret could have given to her loader was preempted by a familiar "pssht-tunk" and light streamed in from a small now-open hatch in the turret roof. Out of it jutted the white flag of elimination. Completely disbelieving, she popped the hatch again and poked her head out. She was just in time to see a greenish tank, the, as Isabella had so eloquently termed it, "fucking I-Go" drive away as its turret rotated back to forward. Looking down at the side of the Chaffee, she could see that it had left a 57 millimeter present stuck in the nineteen millimeter rear-side plate. So fixated on it was she that she almost missed the other tanks following behind the Japanese medium.

She dropped back down and slumped in her seat. "Well?"

Another second passed before the reply, though it was directed at the Captain, first. "We ran headlong into a major push. We're out, but took the StuG with us."

Whatever Hidaka said was in Japanese, so Margaret didn't understand it, but it sounded like a curse. " _Roger. We'll wheel North and try to hit them before they'll expect us to know they're there._ "

There was no "Over." All of the Tabletop Games crew looked at each other with worry, as they knew the Captain was a stickler for protocol. In an attempt to lighten the mood, the gunner spoke up. "So, which one of them knocked us out?"

Lieutenant Agna slumped further. "It was… the Type 89."

Her crew members looked at each other, and then her gunner turned back to her. "Was it a golden BB?"

Her driver spoke next. "Or did our armor have a really poor Soak value?"

The gunner nodded. "The Chaffee _does_ have very few armor points."

Margaret huffed. "Kerensky, De La Croix, shut up."

Her loader, who had not spoken up to this point, said, "We're not living this down, are we?"

* * *

Up in the stands, Commander Maxson shook his head as he watched the official display. "Lieutenant, we talked to you more than once about this. You tunnel-visioned, again. You may be brilliant at catching small details, but don't forget about the rest of the battlefield." He sighed. "Hidaka and I _will_ rake you over the coals later for forgetting that. Likely more than once." He allowed himself a small smile. "Still, taking out the Sturmgeschutz III will put a bit of a dent in their firepower. So, good-ish job."

* * *

Inside the Type 89, three members of Duck Team were congratulating each other. "Great job, Akebi!"

The gunner returned the high five. "We actually took out a real tank! I can't believe it!"

Then there was a muffled explosion behind them. Noriko turned and looked out the back of the turret. "What was-?"

A tongue of flame lanced into the ground right behind them with a whoosh and detonated, throwing the crew around. "Rockets?!"

"Gah! Shinobu, evade!"

"Got it."

The next rocket plowed into the ground next to them, threatening to rip the track off, and the one after that kicked up a cloud of dirt in front. Shinobu wrenched the control sticks to bring the I-Go to a screeching halt. This proved to be the wrong move, as another five rockets shrieked in, three of them blowing off armor along the Type 89's flank. The combined impact flipped the tank onto its side, and the disabled flag popped up out of the opposite side.

Groaning, Noriko keyed her radio. "Miho, we were taken out. That Calliope…"

" _I understand. Are you you all alright?_ "

After a quick check, the volleyball captain replied, "Yeah, we're good."

* * *

Miho sighed. "That looked too scary." She keyed the radio. "Everyone, turn North and make for Ōarai. The Calliope is difficult to use in city streets, and all of our guns will be able to punch through almost any of their armor at that range, especially as we'll be able to flank them pretty easily in the tight quarters."

" _Got it!_ "

" _Turtle Team, here. We were thinking of hanging back and hitting them from behind when they pursue you._ "

"Good idea. Keep out of sight."

" _Will do._ "

"Everyone else, follow us."

* * *

Captain Saegusa almost felt whiplash from Joe's hard U-turn to bring the out-of-position Pershing around to support the rest of the team; in fact, she had to tighten her grip on the sides of her commander's hatch to keep from being thrown against the edge. _I almost regret riding unbuttoned, right now._ She stared mostly toward the Northern spur of the lake, where thick grey smoke was rising, although she cast glances over her shoulder, every so often, to ensure that there wasn't a unit Dog Team had missed that was rolling up behind them. Even in the entire minutes it took for Sierra Armored Academy's forces to regroup, there were none.

"Report!"

Samantha popped out of the M6's hatch. "You saw the smoke?" When the Captain nodded, she continued, "Their B1 popped smoke and rushed across the field at the limit of our range. I think Ōarai used it to get their tanks into the forest to the North of here in a way that we couldn't interdict."

Hidaka blinked. "...How did a B1 'rush?'"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

With a sigh, she acceded the point. "Have they exited the forest?"

"Not that we've seen. Beyond a narrow strip of forest, it's open ground between here and there. I'd bet they're pulling a Campinovka and waiting for any of us to try to cross the kill-zone."

The Captain nodded again. "A reasonable assumption." She keyed her radio. "Fox Team, follow us. We'll head along the beach and try to flank them. Baker, Charlie, and Easy Teams, remain here and provide overwatch. I'm certain that Sam's right and we'll come under fire. Be ready to return the favor."

" _Yes, ma'am!_ "

" _Roger that._ "

"And Sarah? Track 17, please. Start at the second verse."

" _Will do._ "

The first bars of guitar notes filtered over the radio before the lyrics. " _There's a place where we'll stand out-numbered…_ "

* * *

Jeremiah leaned forward in his seat as he watched the movements. "Wait, wait, wait! Hidaka, no! Don't-! Ah, damn it. You let your competitive streak cloud your judgement, again." He let his head fall into his hands. "This isn't a true battle. This is a sport, for crying out loud!"

* * *

Captain Saegusa's Pershing led the charge down the beach, the Sherman Calliope in tow. She rode unbuttoned, eyes panning across the forest to their left and the city ahead for any sign of the Ōarai tanks. Their path, as close to the waterline as possible, was meant to keep the two tanks in cover for the longest available stretch.

"...when the moon is gone, and we've reached our end," she softly sang along to the music.

Then came the whooshing of the discharge of six M8 rockets from the Calliope, which was positioned higher up the beach. Hidaka turned to see what Fox Team had seen, while her gunner began to traverse the turret to bring the 90 millimeter M3 gun to bear. This angled the armor just enough for two 75 millimeter shells to bounce off the turret side and gun mantlet. Yelping at the close call, she dropped back into the turret.

" _I may fall, but not like this. It won't be_ -" The song cut off abruptly as a shell slammed into the armor just below the turret of the Sherman.

The momentum imparted was enough to knock the tank onto its side, with the elimination flag poking out of the opposite side. Hidaka hit "Transmit." "Wolfgang, you okay?"

" _We're fine. I believe that was the 88 that was our swan song._ "

Samantha put in her two cents. " _I can confirm that one. We've got the Tiger in our sights._ " There was the distinctive boom of the 105 millimeter T5E1 gun, followed by the distant crunch of armor being pulverized. " _Target eliminated._ "

The Captain smothered the pain at hearing such a curt description of the tank's demise. "Understood."

" _Be advised, they seem to be retreating into Ōarai._ "

"What?" She popped the hatch and took a look with her binocs. Sure enough, through the trees, there was movement toward the city. "Callahan, put that rise between us and the city." She leaned down and pointed over her driver's shoulder at the intended piece of terrain.

"Yes, ma'am."

Hidaka dropped into her seat and pulled out the local map. "Why would they retreat into Ōarai? It's not part of…" Her jaw dropped and she let her head plop into her hands. "Oh, God I'm so stupid!"

" _Ma'am_?"

Her face went red; somehow, she'd managed to open the comms. Still, better not waste it while she had it. "Sensha-do allows combat in populated urban areas. Commander Nishizumi wants to sucker us into a city-fight. A logical strategy, as our firepower advantage would evaporate in those tight quarters. Plus, they likely know the streets like the backs of their hands."

" _So, what do we do?_ "

* * *

" _Turtle Team here. Um, the Americans aren't following you_."

"Huh?" Miho unknowingly mimicked her rival captain and poked her head out of the turret to look, seeing that the four remaining Sierra tanks were heading Northwest, toward Ōarai's starting area. "Why would they do that?"

"Maybe they figured out our strategy. Not like we haven't used it, before," came Mako's dry voice.

This was followed by the sound of flesh smacking flesh as Yukari slapped her palm against her forehead. "Oh. Of course! I can't believe I forgot!"

"What is it, Yukarin?"

"Since the U.S. has more open space, their leagues forbid combat in populated cities."

Saori looked up from her seat. "But, if they're supposed to be training their tankers, then how-?"

"They use either purpose-built fake cities, like where we fought Kuromorimine, or abandoned cities, like that amusement park where we fought the University team."

"And Ōarai is neither of those," Miho finished.

"Exactly."

Ōarai's commander looked straight ahead in thought for a moment, and then she pressed the activation studs of her throat mic. "Everyone, new plan."

* * *

" _Commander, I see movement from the city. Looks like the B1 and the Type 3._ "

"Roger that, Sharon. Moving."

* * *

As Mako pulled the Panzer IV through one of the outlet streets from Ōarai, Miho's eyes widened in terror as she saw that the M26 was there to greet them. "Hana!"

 ***BOOM***

 ***BOOM***


	5. Chapter 5

By some bizarre stroke of luck, both tanks' cannons had discharged before they could be properly brought to bear, the 90 millimeter round skittering off the deck plate of the Panzer IV, while the German tank's 75 mm retort bounced off the side of the Pershing's turret. The crews of both tanks took a moment to realize that they were still active, much to Hidaka's agitation. "Holy fucking shit, that was close."

"Reload, you idiot! Ibelin, Callahan, get to work and destroy that thing!"

What followed was something that could only be described as Matrix-like jousting with tank cannons as the two crews worked furiously to plant a shell into their opponent's armor where it would score the kill. However, the American armored cadets were evenly matched against their Japanese high schooler counterparts. In the next exchange, the rounds tore off some of the turret schürzen and ricocheted off the Pershing's turret, respectively. The next was no better, as the Panzer IV lost one of its side skirts, and the 75 mm gun was knocked away high, forcing Hidaka to duck into her tank to avoid major injury.

Around them, as though following a mutual, unspoken agreement, the rest of both Sensha-do teams ignored the commanding tanks and focused on each other. A 105 mm projectile drilled into the B1's front hard enough to send the French heavy tank sliding back several meters until it hit a small hillock and flipped onto its side.

The Chi-nu darted across the battlefield, drawing the fire of both Jacksons, executing some rather impressive maneuvers to avoid taking a hit against its thin, flat armor. However, those same maneuvers ensured that the gaming girls couldn't aim well enough to land a shot against the tank destroyers that didn't simply bounce off of their thick hull armor and gun mantlets.

These details were filed away into the back of Hidaka's mind, as was the faint buzz of a drone flying overhead, as she focused on eliminating the Panzer IV. When she saw that the barrel of her Pershing's M3 90mm cannon was aligned correctly, she screamed, "Fire!"

At the exact same instant, her counterpart cried out, "Ute!"

To her horror, Captain Saegusa noticed just a fraction of a second too late that the 75mm Kwk 40 L/48 gun was in a likewise-perfect position to put a shell through the turret ring of her tank. Both gunners, evenly matched, fired at the same time. In sync, both weapons discharged their deadly payloads, and two white flags went up.

With a resigned sigh, Hidaka keyed her radio and reported to the rest of her team that her tank had been taken out. Distantly, she heard Miho do the same. When she finished, she slumped down onto the edge of her commander's hatch to watch the rest of the battle and brood about her failure. She was interrupted before her musings could really begin by a clanging sound that sent a vibration through the Pershing. She looked over to see the opposing team commander climbing up onto the turret to sit beside her.

"Gomen'nasai, Miho-san. I failed to fight properly."

"Don't be. You achieved something no one else did."

"What was that?"

"You took us out before the match was over. In all of our fights, Ankou Team either wasn't taken out at all, or was the last tank knocked out. That makes you better than every team in Japan, in a way."

Hidaka looked at Ōarai's commander for a moment before sweeping her gaze across the battlefield. "I...didn't know that. I should've, considering that yours is the flag tank."

Miho shook her head. "Ankou was only the flag tank for the championship match."

The Japanese-American turned to her counterpart. "Really? Huh."

* * *

Within the M3 Medium Tank, Lee, the radio was blaring the sounds of chaos. "Miho's down!"

"They took out Ankou Team, nya!"

"What are we going to do?!"

Determined to stop the spiral before it started, Azusa keyed her throat mic. "Everyone, listen to me. We stick to Miho's plan. There are only three of them left."

" _But they have the high ground and can see us from whichever way we come._ "

The commander of the freshmen allowed herself a grin. "Not all of us…"

* * *

The situation was, surprisingly, not much different among the Americans. Thanks to its thick armor and powerful gun, the M6 Heavy Tank had become the de facto command unit. However, Lieutenant Samantha Pevensie was nowhere near as competent a commander as either of her superior officers.

Thanks to the stress of the situation, she defaulted to a defensive strategy. "Baker, Charlie, tighten up our formation. I want to present Ōarai with an impenetrable wall of steel."

" _Roger that._ "

She bit her lip and peered through the vision slits in the cupola. "Now, we have to wait. What is Ōarai planning?" The mighty T5E1 cannon discharged, but the 105mm shell missed its target.

* * *

Student Council President Anzu Kadotani peered through the Jagdpanzer 38(t)'s gun sight and muttered to herself. "One hundred ninety one millimeters of frontal hull armor, well over two hundred on the turret; enough to make any of our guns weep from impotence." She dropped the sights lower. "The back of the engine housing, however…" She pulled the trigger.

* * *

Sergeant Catherine Eragon kept her eyes glued to the gun sight of the monstrous gun that was her responsibility as she settled the cross-hairs over the M3 that was just peeking out from the corner of a building.

A pat on her shoulder signaled to her that her loader, Sergeant Amara Davion, had finished ramming a new shell home. Nodding her head at the confirmation, Catherine relaxed herself and tightened her finger on the trigger, ready to hear the beautiful, deep report of the T5E1, once again.

Before she could fully pull it, however, the entire tank shook. "What the-?"

Everyone looked up at the turret ceiling as the little white flag was pushed out the top, signaling that they had been eliminated.

* * *

Inside the Hetzer, Anzu allowed herself a smile; with the big gun knocked out, the Americans had lost a large amount of firepower. "Turn left."

The M36s were shifting around to try to bring their guns to bear against the smaller tank destroyer, and the one on the left was exposing its flat side to her. Momo slammed another shell into the breech, and the 7.5 centimeter gun claimed another victim.

When the little vehicle twisted around to bring the last American into view, President Kadotani was greeted with the sight of a perfectly-aligned 90mm M3 gun. "Uh oh."

There was a sound of thunder.

* * *

"Got the little bugger," Sergeant Carol Nikos muttered as she viewed the smoking wreck of the Jagdpanzer through her gun sight.

"Yeah. Well done," Lieutenant Shianus said over the internal radio. "Now swing that gun around before the other Ōarai tanks get to shoot us!"

As if on cue, a trio of shells impacted the hull and made the tank destroyer rock. With a "pssht-tunk," the elimination flag popped out into the view of all.

"Oh. Well, crap."

"I guess that's it, then."

Carol's loader, Sergeant Saphira Arc leapt from her position and hugged the Jackson's gunner. "It's alright, honey. You did your best."

Blushing at the intimacy displayed by the girl who was her significant other, Lieutenant Nikos replied, "But it wasn't enough."

"Sergeant Arc's got it right. Outnumbered and out of position, there basically wasn't anything you could do. Ōarai defeated us, fair and square."

* * *

"All Sierra Armored Academy tanks have been immobilized. That means… Ōarai Girls' Academy takes the match!" The announcement caused all of the local spectators in the stands to break out into cheers and applause.

"'Atta go, girls!"

"That's the way to do it!"

"You sure showed those foreigners!"

In amongst them, Commander Maxson huffed in amusement and settled for a slow clap. "Not a bad showing, Miho. Not a bad showing, at all. I hope that skill and momentum carries you far into the World Tournament. Good luck."

* * *

From where they sat on the M26 Pershing, Hidaka extended a hand to her fellow team commander. "Well, that's that. Good game."

Miho Nishizumi accepted the hand-shake. "Thanks. You, too."

Captain Saegusa shook her head. "Nah. There were a lot of mistakes we made, any one of which could have flipped this match's result. We need to practice a lot more to beat those out."

"Um…"

"I know what you're thinking. But this is necessary. A lot of these cadets will be going into the Army, proper, once their term is up at Sierra. A mistake made on the actual battlefield could cost someone's life. That's why the military hosts a couple of Sensha-do teams: to allow the students to make their mistakes in a controlled environment where no one gets hurt so that none of them will get hurt when their skill truly matters."

"Oh. I didn't think of it like that. My family-"

She didn't need to say more; Hidaka said it for her, if in a courser American way. "Yeah, those Nishizumi school pricks always take Sensha-do way too seriously." Seeing Miho's poleaxed expression, she coughed. "Um, sorry. Born and raised in the U.S. We're a bit… less polite there, to put it mildly, and the military, especially."

Thankfully, they were spared from any further embarrassment by Yukari running up from the Panzer IV and Hidaka's own radio operator poking her head out of the Pershing's turret to simultaneously report that the removal teams were on their way.

Just before she jumped off the M26, Miho turned toward Hidaka, who was just getting into her tank's turret. "Hey, when do you guys leave?"

"I think our plan was some time either tonight or tomorrow. Why?"

"Well, I was thinking." She turned and bowed, slightly. "Would you like to join us for the victory celebration, including dinner?"

The Captain smiled. "Well, I would have to clear it with my superior officers, but I would be honored."

* * *

Later that night, after the two teams celebrated Ōarai's victory, the cadets of Sierra Armored Academy who had participated in both the match and the party that followed were returning to their home carrier, talking amongst themselves and congratulating each other on their respective performances during the match. Captain Saegusa, at the head of the formation, stopped dead half-way down the gangplank, forcing the others to stop, as well.

"Hey, what-?" Samantha's question died in her throat as she looked over her superior officer's shoulder.

Standing there at the end of the gangplank was Commander Maxson, backlit by the deck's landing lights with his arms folded. "Well girls, you didn't perform too terribly." Everyone assembled would later swear that his eyes suddenly glowed red and a menacing, dark aura swirled around his back. "But a lot of mistakes were made in that battle. Mistakes that need to be hammered out before you can graduate. We're going to have extra training waiting for you when we get back. But that's for later. Tomorrow, we'll bid our hosts farewell and set sail for home."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: I LIIIIVVVEE!**

 ***Ahem* I apologize for dropping off the face of the Earth for so long. I had my final semester of college earlier this year, so I was busy with that, and have followed up by looking for a job, without much success.**


End file.
